WOW! ….Was Tom Waits The Inspiration Behind Heath Ledger’s JOKER?
Following on from Tim Burton’s 1989 classic, throughout the early noughties the BATMAN movie franchise had undoubtedly lost it’s way, with a run of box office flops and poor audience ratings.
Enter CHRISTOPHER NOLAN. Warner Bros had placed Nolan at the helm to bring the Caped Crusader up to date with a dark and gritty revamp. The first in the new series – Batman Begins – was a huge success taking over $374 million worldwide.
The follow up movie was to feature a much loved character not seen since Burton’s ’89 movie – The JOKER, and Nolan, after several encounters decided to give the role to the late HEATH LEDGER.
Taking on a role previously played so iconically by screen legend Jack Nicholson may seem an impossible task, but Ledger had the craftsmanship, bravery, and vision to create a version so chilling and poignant as to almost erase the former from memory.
His physical and vocal transformation was so original and disturbing that it’s no wonder much speculation has been made as to Ledger’s inspiration for the psychotic serial killer. But just look at this TV interview with gravelly singer/songwriter TOM WAITS….the similarities are almost too aligned to be coincidence.
What do you think?
